Visitors at Rivers Casino over the past four days had the opportunity to try their luck at some slot machines, without losing their money.
The casino hosted a “Slots Showcase” event from Saturday to Tuesday, designed to show gamers how certain newer machines worked. Machines were in demo mode, meaning gamers could change bets or set the game to result in a jackpot each time without putting in money. Of course, there was no payout.
The goal was to teach them the set-up of certain styles of games, so they can know what’s required to win, or what a certain bet might net them, said Rosemarie Cook, vice president of gaming at Rivers.
The event was focused on VIPs and Rush Rewards members over the weekend, but was open to the public on Monday and Tuesday in the casino’s event center. A little more than 400 people stopped by in all, officials said.
The slot games available at Rivers Casino are different from the video lottery terminals offered at the Saratoga Casino or other racinos. A VLT, Cook said, is a slot designed with a pre-determined number of winners per a certain number of spins.
The slots found at Rivers, similar to those in Las Vegas, feature real-time number generators, she said, meaning there isn’t a pre-determined number of winners for a certain timeframe.
Given the lack of that class of machine in the region prior to Rivers’ opening, the demo showcase was intended to get visitors familiar with some of the video games that aren’t just straight forward three column slots.
Cook stepped up to a Konami machine Tuesday afternoon and manually selected that it spin and result in a jackpot. This allowed customers to see what the screen would display if they won, she said, and show them what a $3 bet, for example, might net them in a best-case scenario.
Once a guest was finished trying out the machine, they were asked to fill out a small survey, which would be used to inform future decisions on the gaming floor, Cook said. For example, two machines available in demo mode will be making their way onto the gaming floor full-time as a result of customer input, she said. A number of the others in the event center were already on the floor.
The event required approval from the New York State Gaming Commission, Cook said, and slot machine manufacturers such as Konami, IGT and Ainsworth had to agree to ship their products for the event.
Rivers Casino features 1,150 slot machines in total, which make up more than half of the casino’s typical weekly gaming revenues.
Categories: -News-, Business, Schenectady County
